Happy Christmas!
December 25, 2007
I hope you have a joyously Happy Christmas!!!
“For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace,
On the throne of David and over his kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness
From then on and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.” – Isaiah 9:6-7
Today is the day that we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, but we need to remember to praise God for sending His Son every day of the year!
May God Bless you in the coming year!
The Unexpected Present
December 24, 2007
Last evening we went to my grandparents’ house for a Christmas gathering. We enjoyed a simple dinner, which was accompanied by lots of chatting. After we fed our faces, we gathered around the living room and Daddy read aloud the passage about Christ’s birth in Luke 2.
Subsequently, we exchanged gifts with one another. The first to open their gift was the youngest, in other words, me. I received two bottles of squirty cheese (American and Cheddar) along with a box of Chicken in a Biscut crackers. The opening continued on, each unwrapping their present according to their age. Presents ranged from $20 gift cards, candles, and movies. My uncle (who had drawn my name at Thanksgiving and gave me the crackers and cheese) was sitting with two boxes in front of him. One was quite small and the other the complete oposite in size. When it came to his turn, he opened the small box, but not the large one.
After everyone was done, my uncle called my name and said he had a deal to make with me. His proposition was that I could keep the present that I had previously opened (the most lovely crackers and cheese which I conceive to be the most delicious little snack), or trade with him (my crackers and cheese for his imensely large box, of which I had know idea of what it contained).
I wasn’t sure what I should say. Tori, his daughter, leaned over and said, “If you do choose the box, you need to sit in the middle of the room so everyone can see the expression on your face.” That made the situation a bit more awkward. Now I supposed that whatever was in the box would be a big joke, and I would either be frightened or embarassed.
After a bit of hesitation, I went to the package that was now sitting in the middle of the floor, sat down, and began the cautious unwrapping. He had sealed the box with duct tape. I ripped this off, opened the box, and removed the newspaper (which ended up amounting to about 2 weeks worth of paper).
No one but I could see inside the box, and all I could think of was “How is this going to sit in my room?” I was stunned with excitement, but still a bit troubled. Thankfully my uncle quickly arrived with a post, and I removed the object from it’s previous home, and held it up.
TA-DAH! A parking meter!!!
“Antiques” was on the list I made out to the person who would draw my name, but I never expected to receive such a breathtaking gift! My uncle made the base for it to stand on, which makes it even more special.
With many, many “thank yous” the evening went on, and I even received a few donations to put inside the contraption.
Later we had a white elephant*. Our family acquired a nice little DVD player, a tripod, strawberry magnets, a caller ID gadget, a box of 90s style wallpaper, and a set of poofy gloves.
We had a very wonderful time, and I hope you have just as much excitement!
*Whte Elephant : : everyone brings one or two packaged gifts of items from around the house (either goffy, practical, or special), and everyone gets their turn to either open a gift or steal someome elses.
May God Bless!
Ice on the pine trees
December 15, 2007
This is the original photograph that I took of the frost on a pine tree.
Here I created a sepia overlay to give it a warm, old feeling.
This is desaturated.
I went a step farther with the last image and added darkened edges.
Here I gave the photo a purplish cast, just for the fun of it.
I lightened this image, it gives more expression about the time of day it was.
Here I saturated the photo, which gave it quite a yellow cast.
This is darkened, it brings out the source light more fully.
I sharpened and lightened the photograph here.
This is a compilation of all nine.
Isn’t God’s creation so AMAZING! God is so good!
These were all done in Photoshop.
Two Sisters and a “Brother”
December 6, 2007
Me, Charlie, and Breezy.
*Charlie weights 165 lbs., and is the sweetest little man I’ve ever met.*
Our Christmas photo was taken today in front of a few of our pine trees in the backyard.
I adjusted the color and added the white edges, to make it more homey.
This will be inside our Christmas cards, which we plan to send out soon.
Breezy painted the cover of the card (which she will post in the near future).
A Challenge to Women
December 3, 2007
1. That all of your life—in whatevery calling—be devoted to the glory of God.
That is the first point in John Piper’s Challenge to Women. Piper gives a wonderful list of what we as women should be for God and His Kingdom. Please read it.
John Piper is the author of Don’t Waste Your Life and many other great Christian books.
A Wonderful Birthday
December 1, 2007
Yesterday, I had beautiful birthday, filled with joy and love!
Maggie came over for the evening, and stayed until late in the night.
We decided that I would open presents before we ate dinner. :)
Daddy and I lit the candles (I was burnt). If you didn’t notice, there is no icing on the cake. (In my mind, cake was made for a plate, and icing was made for spoons and cookies.) Sadly, all but one was blown out with the first breath, so I had to blow twice.
There to the left of the front row are two antique books, one “Fifty Famous Stories Retold” and the other “Student’s Manual in Household Arts: Food and Cookery.” The last of which has a very bad burn on the back, which looks like the student had lain the book on the stove burner
After opening the presents, we had pizza and watched One Night With the King. Both were wonderful but the latter was especially good (and highly recommended, a very well done film about Esther, with added elements).
With the movie watched, us girls (Bre, Mag, and I) played some games.
God has given me these blessed years of a wonderful life, and I am so thankful!
To God Be the Glory!
While living the life my Lord has blessed me with, I am at home with my family enjoying being a daughter, homemaker and artist. My highest goal is to give glory to God and enjoy Him forever. It is He that has saved me with His amazing grace and is continually molding me; to Him I owe everything. Read more . . .
